


Friendship

by xxxDreamingflowerxxx



Series: The Hero's Telltale Stories [2]
Category: The Legend of Zelda, The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time
Genre: Acceptance, Angst and Humor, Friendship, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Humor, Light Angst, Mild Hurt/Comfort, One Shot Collection, Psychological Drama, Regret, Self-Acceptance, Some Very Slight ZeLink, Two Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-26
Updated: 2017-03-05
Packaged: 2018-06-10 00:53:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 16,371
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6931288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xxxDreamingflowerxxx/pseuds/xxxDreamingflowerxxx
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The biggest obstacles are one's insecurities, fears, regrets and self-acceptance. No matter how brave and heroic you are, they are still hidden within oneself. The only way to progress is not only to face the source, but also to accept those imperfections. </p><p>Link's visit to his hometown could be one of his biggest confrontations ever.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Lamentation

**Author's Note:**

> My apologies for making you guys wait. I don't have much time to write due to work. I only have time during my work breaks, since I'm too tired when I get home and I sleep most of the time during my days off, also I leave my IPad at home (for obviously reasons), I had to write this on my old Android (add the grammar and spelling corrections and beta reading over and over again), I bought the phone back in 2012... So yeah not very convenient. There's also the fact that I have to save every freaking time or else everything I've written will be erased... This happened when I started to write this one-shot... Luckily the notes only allow 1500 characters so it wasn't much but still to rewrite everything on my iPad becomes a pain in the ass.
> 
> Anyway I decided to split the one-shot in two parts, so it's a two-shot. I just kept getting too many ideas and I didn't want to make you all wait for this. This one-shot is more angsty and serious compared to the previous one, I'm pretty much a sucker for these things, I love mental struggles and such.
> 
> And on a side-note: I want to thank ShadowDeity'sFire again for helping me to come up with proper names for the Know-It-All Brothers.

Silence, silence and utter silence. It was the only thing which lingered in these dark woods. No chirping of birds, howling of Wolfos or Deku Scrub's chatter, no signs of life or sounds from the mystical creatures inhabiting the holt, was audible within this thick area of trees and vegetation. Such was the usual atmosphere on the most eastern side of Hyrule Kingdom, the Lost Woods. The only noise to break the forest's silence, were the sounds of footsteps, belonging to the young Hyrulean Princess and her 'escort'.

"It's surprisingly quiet here." The Princess mumbled.

"It was a lot livelier when I left the forest, even when I met Saria in the Sacred Forest Meadow, she didn't mention anything. Maybe she didn't want to make me worried... But I would have appreciated if she told me. The death of the Great Deku Tree has been a huge impact on this place." Link who had been walking slightly ahead to scout for any hidden enemies replied to the princess' question.

The two children were on their way towards Zora's Domain when they discovered a secret passage, which led towards the Lost Woods. Seeing this as a great opportunity, Link decided to take a detour to visit his home and keep the promise he made to Princess Zelda. They've been wandering around the forest for a few hours, encountering Wolfos, Business Scrubs and even played with the Skull Kids.

"The Skull Kids are really intriguing beings," Zelda commented as she recalled the small forest imps' playful behaviour. "It's hard to believe that they origin from lost children."

"That's because they lose their memories from before they arrived in the forest. Honestly, I think they were lucky. When adults become lost they turn into Stalfos and those creatures aren't so forgiving. They attack everything, adults and children alike, they don't have the playful innocence of the Skull Kids. Maybe that's why they don't like adults..."

"What are Stalfos like? Have you ever encountered one before?"

Zelda's question made Link lower his sword as he looked in front of him, almost in a daze. "To be honest, I've never seen a Stalfos. I don't even know what they look like. I've only heard the stories about them. But I think it's for the better, coming across a Stalfos is something no one wants to experience."

Both children had gone silent, pondering over the words that had been spoken. Link continued walking, cutting any branch or bush that obstructed their path. Zelda however, observed Link carefully and narrowed her eyes.

"Link, I've been meaning to ask you another question."

"Yes?"

Link did not turn around and continued with clearing their path.

"I was wondering if you're feeling under the weather."

While Link could still not fully understand Zelda's rich vocabulary, but this time, he was fully aware of the meaning behind her words. He flinched, realising how keen Zelda's observation was, but he still refused to meet her eyes.

"What do you mean?"

"I've noticed that you've become very quiet since we entered the forest..." Zelda trailed off before she continued to speak. "Your composure is also very tense, unlike your usual pose. Commonly, one would be very thrilled when they return home after such a long time. When you told me about your home, you were all too delighted to inform me, however you seem to be wavering now. Did something happened before you left the forest?"

The memory of his last moments inside the Kokiri Forest flashed into his mind; Mido's harsh accusation, the looks the other Kokiri gave him, the moment when he was crying all alone with only Navi doing her best to console him and the parting words he and Saria shared. It was the harsh treatment from the Kokiri tribe that gave him the final blow and push to leave the forest. It was also the main reason why he didn't bother to visit the Kokiri when he met with Saria at the Sacred Forest Meadow.

"You're not obliged to tell me if you don't want to," Zelda reassured him. "But if there's anything burdening your mind, know that I'm willing to lend you my ears. It's never a good thing to bottle up your sorrows."

Link allowed Zelda's words to sink in. Realising that his body was shaking, he wiped his face dry. Uttering a few words; "Thank you."

"Hey, Link!"

The painful silence between them was broken when Navi appeared from the bushes.

"The Kokiri Village is close by. I haven't detected any irregularities, so it's safe to say that we won't encounter any monsters..."

Navi trailed off as she was about to say something more, however, this didn't go unnoticed by Link.

"What's wrong?" He raised his eyebrows as he addressed his fairy.

"The thing is, it's too quiet. There isn't even one Kokiri outside. The Great Deku Tree's absence has a greater impact on the forest's state than I expected."

The fairy's exclamation surprised both Link and Zelda.

"Let's hope that everyone is alright." Link muttered.

* * *

The group arrived at the Kokiri Forest just a few minutes later. Just as Navi said, the small Kokiri Village seemed almost abandoned. The usual laughter and sounds of playing Kokiri were absent.

"Have they gone into hiding?" The princess wondered out loud.

Link scanned the area carefully before he took a few steps, only to freeze when he spotted something not far away from them.

"Navi isn't that...?"

"It's Mido!"

Navi confirmed Link's suspicions as she looked at the form of the self-proclaimed Kokiri leader.

The boy was sitting on a bench near the house of the Know-It-All brothers. He had short red hair and just like Link, he was dressed in green, along with a green hat.

Mido flinched upon hearing his name. He glanced at Link's direction, blinking a few times before he finally opened his mouth.

"Link?! Is that really you?!"

As if on queue, the window from the Know-It-All Brother's house opened, revealing a blonde girl, her hair tied up in two low buns. Like Mido and Link she was also dressed in green, but instead of a hat, she wore a green hairband.

"Mido, did you just say, Link?"

The Kokiri girl looked up, immediately meeting with Link's eyes. Her eyes widened in surprise and delight.

"It's Link! He's finally back! Everyone, Link is back!"

The door burst open, revealing several children, all dressed in a similar attire as Link and the other two Kokiri. All froze for a second until they dashed towards the blonde boy, surrounding him completely.

"It's Link!"

"You're really back!"

"You've been gone for so long! We almost thought we wouldn't see you again."

"We really missed you, Link!"

All Kokiri bombarded Link with questions and comments, making the poor boy too startled to continue. The crowd calmed down after a short while. Mido, who had stayed on his spot finally approached the group, followed by the blonde girl. Unlike the other Kokiri, the Kokiri leader refused to meet Link in the eye and just stared at the ground awkwardly.

"You're really troublesome, you know that?"

Link did not reply to Mido's comment, instead, he just looked away like Mido. Increasing the awkward atmosphere between them.

"Mido!" The blonde Kokiri girl yelled angrily as she nudged him in his shoulders. The boy yelped in pain and rubbed his sore shoulder sending a glare towards the girl which she ignored as she approached Link. "Link were deeply sorry for blaming you for the death of the Great Deku Tree. It must have been very painful for you and we don't blame you at all for having left the forest. We've been jerks to you, treated you horribly in the past and made you feel like an outcast. There's no way that you would want to hurt the Great Deku Tree. I hope you'll be able to forgive us because we really missed you and no matter how different you feel, we see you as one of us. You are one of us." She mouthed her apology as she bowed, tears almost falling from the guilt she had felt.

The girl's confession made Link go silent, his expression hidden under his bangs, body trembling.

"Link, are you okay?" Navi asked, concern obviously in her voice.

"Are you... Crying?" Mido asked suspiciously.

"N-no... I'm not crying... I'm just tired is all." Link's voice sounded shaken and when he lifted his head reluctantly his face was covered in tears and snot. "I-I... Just got something in my eye... I-I'm alright... I... can't cry..."

"Link..."

From the crowd of Kokiri stepped another one into Link's vision. It was a green haired girl. Her warm concerning gaze was locked with Link's watery eyes. She approached Link and embraced him.

"Sa-Saria... Uhhh."

The whole crowd stayed silent, watching the reunion of the two childhood friends, even Mido, while still feeling uncomfortable, kept quiet.

"I'm happy to see you again. It's been a while, hasn't it? Has my song helped you during your journey?"

"Uhh... Yeah..." Link roughly rubbed his face dry, despite his efforts to sound normal, his voice sounded raspy. "It helped a lot, thank you."

After a short while, the crowd calmed down from the excitement and only then, did Mido notice the guest Link had brought along.

"Who is that? Did you bring an outsider with you?"

The Kokiri leader pointed at Princess Zelda, who had been observing the scene from a distance.

Link's cheeks turned rosy when he realised that the princess had witnessed a part of his vulnerable side. "Ah... uh yes... I eh... met her during my travels... She's... um... ah.."

Having all the attention suddenly aimed towards her, Zelda bowed politely. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Princess Zelda. Link has been taking very good care of me."

The Kokiri grew silent. All staring at the princess, observing her and absorbing the information they just got. Mido blinked a few times his eyes glued on the princess while he inspected her. After a few seconds, he signalled for all the Kokiri to gather.

"Explain." He ordered Link. The group turned curiously to towards Link, waiting for his reply.

"She's the princess of Hyrule." The boy answered.

Mido rolled his eyes. "Duh, I get that part, but why did you bring her here?"

Link glared at Mido for his rude behaviour but continued anyway. "The Great Deku Tree told me to look for her before he passed away."

"Was that the main reason why you left the forest?" One of the female Kokiri asked.

Link nodded. "According to the Great Deku Tree, this man called Ganondorf placed a curse on him because he was after this."

He pulled out a large green stone, making the whole group gasp.

"That's the Great Deku Tree's treasure, the Kokiri Emerald!" The blonde Kokiri girl gasped.

"I was supposed to give the stone to the princess. She was the one who sent me on a mission to collect the other stones."

"Wait, do you mean that there are more?" A chubby Kokiri boy asked.

"Yeah, two more. I already obtained the Goron's Ruby, which means there's one left for me to collect." Link explained. "Anyway, apparently we're not the only ones who were victims of Ganondorf's evil deeds. The Goron Tribe was on the brink of starvation, I don't know about the race that holds the last stone, but I'm sure they're also struggling with something. After I informed the princess about the Goron's situation, she decided to witness consequences of Ganondorf's actions with her own eyes. We discovered a passage towards the Lost Woods when we were on our way to Zora's Domain and I decided to show her the forest."

"I see..." The Kokiri leader mumbled.

"By the way, why were you all at the house of the Know-It-All Brothers?" Link asked curiously.

"We were having a meeting," Saria spoke up. "But I think it's better to discuss it inside."

Link nodded. He glanced at Zelda and signalled for her to follow him. The group of children entered the house of the Kokiri siblings.

The house was quite large compared to the other Kokiri houses. Consisting of a ground floor, which served as a dining room and living room and a first floor which served at their sleeping quarters. The dining room had a large table in the centre and a fire stove in the corner of the room. Next to the stove was a cabinet, where the brothers stored their goods.

Link, Zelda and the Kokiri seated themselves at the large table.

"Let's start with proper introductions." Link stated. He glanced at Princess Zelda and back to the Kokiri. "Princess, meet Fado, she's the blonde Kokiri. Miso is the small chubby one who manages the Kokiri shop. Mido, Saria, the twins; Remi and Mire and the Know-It-All Brothers, Saptaki, Pyko, Istrian and Reed. They are also in charge of the Forest Training Centre."

"It's a pleasure to meet you all. Link has told me a lot about you." The princess exclaimed.

Zelda's words made the Kokiri blush slightly.

"So, Saria, what did you mean about the meeting?" Link asked.

"Well, you've probably noticed on your way here. After you left the forest, the Lost Woods became infested with monsters. Even the village isn't as safe as it used to be. Monsters have been spotted here from time to time. The Mad Scrubs are becoming more violent and even Wolfos wander into the village at night. The only positive sign I've seen is that the forest stopped withering."

"That's probably because you beat queen Gohma!" Navi pointed out.

"Ganondorf's curse may have been dispelled from the forest, but the damage done has been too much," Zelda added. "His influence is worse than I imagined. For the Kokiri to be affected this much..."

"So, what is it that this Ganondorf guy is after?"Mido asked. "He can't be searching for only some stones."

"You're correct." The princess answered." It's not the stones. His ultimate goal is the Triforce."

"The Triforce? Isn't that the golden inheritance of the goddesses?" Fado wondered.

Zelda, Link and Navi nodded.

I thought it was just a story." The Kokiri leader mumbled. "To think it actually exists."

"He killed the Great Deku Tree for it..." Miso whimpered.

None of the Kokiri responded. They just gazed at the large table, reminiscing the moment they realised their guardian had passed away.

"It really was my fault..." Link suddenly mumbled. Everyone glanced up at the boy, his hands were balled into fists and trembling. "Had I arrived sooner if only, I could reach Gohma faster..." The blond gritted his teeth.

"No," Mido's voice made everyone look up surprised at the Kokiri leader, he was staring at the table, slamming his fists on the table and startling everyone. "It was my fault... I was the one who didn't allow Link to pass. I should have let him meet with the Great Deku Tree!"

Mido's words shocked Link greatly. He did not expect them to come from The boy's mouth. "Mido..."

"It was no one's fault," Saria spoke up. Her words lingering around the room, it sounded both gentle but firm. "Mido, refusing Link's passage to the Great Deku Tree Meadow was a wise decision. Link was unarmed, how would you expect him to defend himself from those monsters without any weapons or a shield? He would have died pointlessly trying to defeat the plague haunting the great Deku Tree. That is if the Deku Tree even allowed him to go unarmed, which is something he'd definitely never do. As for you, Link." She turned towards her childhood friend. "You tried your hardest to save the Deku Tree, don't beat yourself over it. You've never wielded a sword before when you threw yourself into battle with zero experience. I can't even imagine how hard it was for you. Don't be ashamed of yourself, you should be proud of yourself."

Both Mido and Link looked at Saria, their faces stained with tears. They had nothing to say. However, a few seconds later the other Kokiri began to cry. Zelda witnessed the scene of the Kokiri Tribe's mourning for the loss of their late surrogate late parent.

"They may be a tribe that lives independently, but their hearts are still that of children," Navi explained. "They probably waited for Link to return so that he wouldn't need to mourn on his own..."

"Unlike us Hylians, the Kokiri don't grow. They are a race that is very united with one another, to make up for the wisdom and maturity that the other races possess when they grow up." Princess Zelda mused as she observed the Kokiri. "I worry what effect this journey will have on Link's mental state..."

Navi did not answer, she unconsciously glanced back to Link who was still crying with the rest of the Kokiri. "I wonder..." 

* * *

 

By the time the Kokiri calmed down, the sun was already setting. The Kokiri had decided to throw a welcome feast in honour of Link's return and the Princess' visit. While the Kokiri were preparing for the evening meal, Link was showing the Princess around the village.

"And this is the entrance to the Forest Training Centre. You have to crawl in this hole to enter the training grounds. We call it the Hole of Z and sometimes the Hole of L."

Zelda hunched over and peeked into the hole. She scrunched her eyebrows as she inspected the strange entrance. "The Hole of Z and the Hole of L? That's a strange name, why is it called like that, why do you even have two names for it and what purpose does the training grounds serve?"

"I'm not sure why we call it the Hole of Z or L." Link admitted while scratching the back of his head. "I guess it's one of the village's mysteries. As for the training centre, it's for practice. If a Kokiri has gained enough experience they're allowed to enter the Lost Woods."

"If it wasn't for Link's training in the training centre, he would have more difficulties in beating Gohma," Navi explained proudly. "This is also the reason why Kokiri can wander inside the Lost Woods without becoming the victim of the monsters."

"And how do Kokiri determine if they're qualified to enter the Lost Woods?"

"They're given a trial." Link answered. "If they pass the trial, they're allowed to enter, if they fail they have to train more and try again later."

"I see..." Zelda glanced back at the hole, contemplating something.

The change in Zelda's demeanour was noticed by both Link and Navi. The boy slowly walked closer, trying to figure out what was wrong.

"Princess Zelda?" He asked carefully.

The princess suddenly hunched down on her knees and declared, "I want to go into the training centre."

Her answer astonished both Navi and Link. "What?!"

"I want to see it with my own eyes, what kind of training do you undergo there."

The boy and his fairy exchanged glances, both unsure what to decide.

"Are you sure?" Navi asked. "It's not a playground. There is a chance that you could get hurt, princess."

A playful smile appeared on the princess' face. Don't worry about me, I've had my fair share or climbing, running and hiding experiences."

Link scratched the back of his head. He eyed the princess, who met his gaze with her determined ones. "Alright, let's go." He let out a sigh. "But I'm going first. I don't think it's appropriate if you... eh... go in first." Links cheeks turned slightly red as he mumbled those words.

Zelda blinked a few times before the words he said finally sunk in. "Ah, if you insist. But if you go first that means that I'll-Be-'Behind' you." She took a few steps closer to Link until their foreheads were almost touching, a smirk formed on her face.

Link's face turned beet red. He quickly turned around to keep some distance and began to mumble gibberish. "I, well, uh, I... Um... I'm going first!"

The boy quickly crawled into the hole, as if he was trying to escape the awkwardness he felt. Zelda watched him go while attempting to hide the amusement she was experiencing.

"I appreciate your attempts to keep him positive," Navi commented. "but don't go too far, alright?"

"Was I that obvious?" The princess asked in which Navi answered with a nod." My apologies, it's just... This is the first time I've had so much freedom, but do not fret, it won't happen again."

"No, you're not. It's just that we faeries life a long life. Link is still a child and unlike you, he never had any need to learn about dealing with adult matters or psychology, on top of that's he's quite dense since he is still learning. Trust me when I say this." Navi explained.

"Really? Then, how old are you?"

"... That's classified information, it's also rude to ask a fairy about their age."

While Zelda was still curious about Navi's age, she respected the fairy's customs and privacy thus decided to not inquire any further and nodded. Glancing back at the Hole of Z, the princess began to crawl into the small space. The narrow hole made her feel uncomfortable, but she did her best to focus on the feeling of the damp soil on her hands as to prevent herself from panicking. Luckily for the young Hylian girl, the opening was short. She quickly noticed Link's shoes on the other side of the gap. The boy was waiting for her.

He reached out with his hand and helped her up when she crawled out of the hole. The Kokiri boy gave an apologetic expression when he noticed her mud-stained dress.

"Ah, don't worry about it," Zelda reassured him. "I don't mind the mud and thank you for helping me up."

"Alright, and you're welcome." Link replied. He turned around, focusing his attention on their current location. "This is the Forest Training Centre!" He exclaimed proudly.

Zelda observed the surrounding, frowning at the narrow passage.

"It looks small for a training ground..."

"Yeah, the narrow path is also part of the training. We practice sneaking around, mobility and more. This is not the place where you can take your time."

Link's words did not make much sense to the princess until her ears picked up a large, rumbling sound. "What was that?"

Her question was answered seconds later when a large boulder rolled past them.

"I can't remember how often I was hit by that damn rock." Link remarked awkwardly.

The purpose of the training centre finally made sense to Zelda, once she observed the layout again. "This... Is a labyrinth. In order to pass you have to find the exit without getting hurt, it's similar to the Lost Woods." She stated calmly.

Link was gawking, too surprised with how quickly Princess Zelda was about to deduct such a conclusion.

"How..."

"I compared the surroundings to the layout of the Lost Woods. While the forest is not narrow, but the density of the woods does give you that feeling. Also, the Lost Woods is also similar to a labyrinth. You have to know where to go in order to navigate yourself through it."

"Dense... What?"

"In this case, she's referring to the quantities measure of the trees that occupy the forest," Navi explained.

Link just stared at his fairy as if she had grown a second head.

"She means that there are so many trees, that the forest seems smaller than it actually is."

"Oh..." Link's blunt answer made Zelda chuckle. Which in turn made the boy blush. "Um, well, let me show you around. Don't worry about getting injured. I aced this test on my first try! I mean when I took the test, I aced it! Yeah, that's it!"

"Aced means passed in this context, doesn't it?" Zelda inquired.

"Uhh, yeah. Ah here take my... hand..." He held out his hand for the princess, keeping it slightly stiff in front of her.

Zelda scrutinised the boy carefully. "Your hand is covered in sweat." She remarked.

"Uwah! Sorry, I didn't know!" Link quickly tried to dry his hand with his tunic.

"Don't worry about it, I don't really mind. I'm actually glad that I got to see so many sides of you. The many faces you have, how you act in the presence of your fellow Kokiri and your hidden feelings."

Link dropped his hands to his sides. "I..." He took a deep breath before he continued. "Honestly, I'm not a confident person...I was scared when the Great Deku Tree asked me to kill Gohma. I didn't want to go. I didn't even want to leave the forest; I wasn't even sure if I could help the Goron tribe. I'm just a child who grew up in the Kokiri Forest, ignorant of the outside world, I realised this after I set my first steps into Hyrule. The world is so big, so dangerous, why does a little boy who loves to sleep, has to be the one to save it? Why do I have to be strong for everyone else?"

"Link..." Princess Zelda took a few steps, searching for the words needed to comfort the boy. "The Kokiri, are a very secluded and pure race, they are being shielded away from the outside world, protected by the forest, away from the corruption and greed." She unconsciously pulled at the skirt of her dress and glanced at her companion, eyes filled with remorse. "Forgive me for dragging you into my affairs..."

Zelda's sudden exclamation astounded Link. "What? What do you mean? Don't be sorry. Sure it's been a tough journey, but I got so much in return. I've learnt many things, I met a lot of amazing people. I wouldn't trade this for the world! Besides, it's because of your 'selfishness' that we were able to spend time like this, right?" A cheeky grin appeared on his face.

The Princess blinked, almost taken aghast by Link's bold exclamation. Her cheeks turned a slight shade of pink. "... I... am happy that I get to spend time with you, Link." A joyful smile formed across her face.

The boy's face also turned a slight shade of pink. He moved his left foot awkwardly as if he was trying to create a small hole while trying to come up with a reply. "M-Me too and t-thank you for cheering me up and for being my friend." He mumbled as he scratched his nose.

"The pleasure is mine."

Having felt like the weight on his shoulders was lifted by a tonne, Link grabbed Zelda's hand and let her through the Forest Training Centre. 

* * *

 

The time of dusk quickly arrived in Hyrule and thus the evening feast of the Kokiri had finally commenced.

"And then I almost got squashed by that big rock!" Link exclaimed proudly.

"How can you get yourself into so much trouble, Link? Weren't you the one who was supposed to hold the current record of clearing the training trial?" A sigh escaped Fado's lips.

"It was not my fault!" The boy pouted. "That stupid rock was supposed to appear much later!"

Chuckles and smirked were exchanged by the feasting children.

"Princess Zelda, do you live in a castle? Are they really as big as the stories mention?" Mire questioned, her eyes filled with excitement and curiosity.

A smile appeared on Zelda's face when she noticed all the faces looking expectantly at her. "Yes, I do live in a castle. It's quite large, but I'm not fond of the large walls. It gives me a feeling of isolation. You should see the courtyard it's one of the most beautiful places of the castle. The flowers are beautiful and whenever I go there I feel at ease."

"What's a courtyard?" Miso asked.

"It's the castle's inner gardens." Link explained.

"You've seen it?" The Kokiri shop owner asked. His attention quickly switched to Link.

"Well, yeah, it's where Princess Zelda and I met. Although I had to sneak into a small hole and pass the guards first..."Link muttered while scratching the back of his head.

"You had to sneak into the castle to get into the courtyard?"

"Ah no, there's a small drain at the entrance of the Courtyard where the water flows through. Link used that small hole to get inside." Zelda explained. "I guiltily, use that same drain to sneak out sometimes. While I love being at the Courtyard, I like strolling around the streets, getting familiar with the citizens and interact with them. The castle isn't as remarkable as others deem it to be, compared to the ancient temples and their structure, but I suppose for those who never left their homes it's very majestic."

"Majestic means very beautiful." Link added before the Kokiri could ask.

"You seem to have learnt a lot during your journey," Saria remarked.

"Uhh, you think so?" Link asked as a soft blush appeared on his cheeks.

"Yeah, you know so many adult words." Reed agreed. "As a Know-It-All Brother, I'm impressed."

The young boy's blush grew deeper. "It's nothing really... I mean, the princess has taught me a bit and there's still a lot of things that are foreign to me. Every time I see the castle, I'm still impressed by its structure. It's so big, solid and white and the courtyard is beautiful. There are so many flowers. You guys should see it. You should see all of Hyrule!"

"The Great Deku Tree said that we Kokiri die if they leave the forest," Mido exclaimed.

"Link left the forest and look, he came back alive." Fado defended.

The Kokiri turned their gazes towards Link.

"If you consider the monsters that roam in Hyrule, then I'd agree that you would die if you encounter them. But like I said before, there are secret passages in the Lost Woods which lead to different parts of Hyrule." Link explained.

"I've heard of those secret passages," Saptaki commented. "But no matter how much I've looked and searched, I could never find the secret routes. How did you find them?"

"I wasn't really looking for them since I didn't even know such paths existed. I stumbled upon them on accident during my journey." The boy admitted.

"It's been more than a month since you left..."Mire mused. Her attention quickly turned back to Zelda with a new expression of curiosity in her eyes. "So for how long have, you travelled with Link?"

"If I start from the moment we left Hyrule Market," the princess mumbled as she counted the days. "I would say, about four days."

"Four days already? So you're already used to travelling with our Link? What's it like to travel with him? Are his sleeping habits as bad as ever? Here in the Kokiri Forest, he's pretty famous for being a sleepyhead."

"Mire!"

Link's protests were quickly overshadowed by the giggling from the girls and the chuckles from the guys.

"Just face it, Link." Navi snorted. "You're a pain in the ass to wake up."

As the noises quickly died down Princess Zelda opened her mouth.

"Well, in the beginning, I had to get used to the whole camping idea. I've never slept outside in the open air before, never the less on the grounds. But truth to be told, I was so exhilarated the first night that I couldn't fall asleep and kept Link and Navi up because of it. There was also this incident with the Stall Children. Which was why I didn't blame Link for his tiredness the first two days. But I ought to admit, it's quite the challenge to rouse him from his slumber. Navi and I tried everything, from shaking him, calling him repeatedly, even removing his blankets, does not seem to work."

Link dropped his head on the table, trying to hide his embarrassment from the Kokiri who had begun to snicker.

"Yup, that's our Link," Mido exclaimed proudly, not bothering at all to hide his amusement.

"It was tedious, I had no other choice but to throw water over him just to wake him up." A deep sigh left the princess' lips.

"You should have seen his face!" Navi commented. "He was so upset! It was priceless! He almost thought that the Stall children were attacking again!"

"Ugh, thanks a lot, Navi..." Link grumbled, his face was hidden between his arms.

"Don't be such a baby." Navi scolded. "Yeah, you've done a lot of cool things: running around Hyrule, travelling, helping others, meeting new people and gaining knowledge of these lands, but you're still a lazy child who prefers sleeping about anything else. Don't you remember how often you almost got killed by those Peahats and Larva? And that was because you refused to wake up while I've been warning you for hours."

"So what? I'm still here in one piece. Besides, I'm proud to be a freaking baby!" Link huffed proudly as he smacked his hand on his chest. "I'm part of the Kokiri Tribe! I'm allowed to be as childish as I can be!"

Despite the few giggles that were exchanged, the majority of the Kokiri cheered or clapped, even the Princess was applauding happily.

Watching the warm atmosphere and friendliness between the children, Link beamed. After all the insecurities, he finally felt like he returned home after a long time.

With the sounds of children's laughter permeating throughout the Kokiri Forest, after a time of silence and dread having ruled over the sacred forest, came the day of the princess, her young hero and his guardian fairy to an end.


	2. Bonds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> During their stay at Kokiri Forest, Link teaches Zelda many things about the lives of a Kokiri. However, there are a few things the boy needs to learn himself. Old bonds are fixed and new bonds are forged.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, everyone! My apologies for the long wait. I had a few moments where I had to overcome my writer's block, certain scenes didn't sit right with me so I had to rewrite them a few times. Also, I had so many ideas that I wanted to implement in this story (The ideas even kept coming and coming) On the bright side, there's now a 10k-words-long chapter for you guys to enjoy, so I guess it was worth the wait.
> 
> I always say; 'Quality over quantity'. I don't want to give my readers a crappy story, if I'm not happy with something, I will keep working on it until I'm finally satisfied with it. Doesn't matter how long it will take.
> 
> It's kinda ironic how the release of this chapter overlaps the current BotW hype. My sis and I are really enjoying the game. You just can't help but get distracted so easily by the scenery. Everything is so different from the Zelda games that were used to and you always want to know what's behind the mountains, or inside the forest. Nintendo really did a great job on this game! (If only they gave us audio options or subtitles options...) But this won't distract me completely from writing. Whenever I'm inspired I will write until the inspiration leaves me!
> 
> Special thanks to my beta and friend Squirtle-sensei for helping me with this.
> 
> Disclaimer: The Legend of Zelda © Nintendo.

Daybreak emerged at the Kokiri Forest, after what felt like a large period of darkness, a slight ray of sunshine seemed to have found its way back into the woods. While one by one the inhabitants rose from their slumber, there was one particular person who was eager to get up early.

"I can't believe you woke me up so early in the morning... YOU, of all people." Navi sighed tiredly. "You know there's a difference between waking up early and getting up at this insane hour?"

"Relax," Link reassured. He tried to sound as casual as possible. "I just woke up a bit earlier than usual. What's so bad about that?"

"A bit earlier?!' It's not even six in the morning!" Navi shouted. "Since when do you get up at six in the morning?! It's far beyond your usual routine. Don't tell me your stupid happy go lucky humming behaviour has anything to do with last night?!"

"What are you talking about?" The young boy mumbled giving his guardian fairy a pout. "I'm just happy to be home again. It's been so long since I've slept in my own comfortable bed."

"May I remind you that the Great Deku Tree appointed me as your guardian fairy. I know you better than anyone else.

Link frowned, and he ignored Navi's lecture and focused on the road ahead of his. Reminiscing the events that took place after dinner.

* * *

Link and Zelda had just left the Know-It-All Brothers' house when a voice called out to the young hero.

"Link! Do you have a minute?"

It belonged to no other than the Kokiri leader Mido. While he was most of the time silent during dinner, Link had no idea why he would approach him now.

"Go and talk to him. I'll wait for you." Zelda told Link quietly. Link nodded and headed towards the boy. While he was still suspicious of Mido's strange behaviour, the boy kept silent and allowed the Kokiri to speak.

Mido was glancing awkwardly at the ground, he didn't seem to be comfortable at all. After a few seconds of silence passed, opened Mido his mouth.

"Before the Great Deku Tree fell ill, I saw a strange man in the forest."

Mido's sudden confession made Link's blood run cold.

"W-what?!" Was the only response the boy could utter.

"It was a very big man, his skin was dark and his hair was red. I couldn't get a closer look because I was hiding, but there was one thing that Understood, that man was not a good person."

"Did you hear what he was saying?"

Mido shook his head. "Not completely, I could only understand a little, but I think that man wanted the Kokiri Emerald. I heard words like forest, stone and such. He probably tried to threaten the Great Deku Tree."

"And because he refused to listen, Ganondorf placed a curse on him instead." Navi mused.

"If you knew about this..." Link muttered, his tiny hands were clenched into fists. "Then why... WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY SOMETHING DAMMIT?! You kept quiet all the time! You accused me of killing the Great Deku Tree! We could have saved him! But instead, you kept quiet and blamed me!"

Link grabbed Mido by his collar, glaring fiercely at the Kokiri Leader.

However, unlike normal, Mido did not push Link away from him. Instead, he allowed the blonde boy to unleash his anger on him.

"Do you have any idea how much of that I had to tolerate?! How often I endured your insults?! Your bullying?! I had never done anything to you to make you dislike me so much!" Tears were falling down Link's cheeks as he kept outing his feelings, but his anger continued to boil. "I only wanted to be accepted, to actually feel that this is my home! Saria was the only one who accepted me! Who made me feel at ease, she filled the void of loneliness that I felt for such a long time! She was the only one who understood me! Why couldn't you just understand that?!"

When Link's vision cleared he finally took notice of Mido's face. He was just like Link crying and his nose dripping with snot.

"I know!" Despite Mido's attempt to be loud, his voice sounded too weak compared to Link's. "I know that you had no ill intentions... I know you wouldn't want to hurt the Great Deku Tree... I... I... just never understood why the Great Deku Tree or Saria favoured you so much... I was jealous. I know it's no excuse but I just was... I blamed you for the Deku's Death because I was angry at myself. For being too powerless and scared to do anything. I couldn't say anything because I was afraid..." Mido's took a deep breath, trying to muster whatever he could in order to open his mouth again. "I'm sorry, okay? For being such a jerk, for calling you names, for being so mean to you. I'm sorry, I was just jealous..."

No more words were exchanged between the two. Both of them stayed in the awkward silence, the words that needed to be said had already been exchanged and it was with such a rocky awkwardness that Link bode goodnight to Mido.

* * *

"Yesterday was something I'd never imagine to happen. Not even in my weirdest dreams..." Link admitted to Navi. "And I'm not even sure what to do about it. I mean, my dream, the thing I wanted the most came actually true... I'm finally accepted by the Kokiri, and it's not just Fado and Miso... But Mido out of all the people... it was embarrassing and I'm pretty sure things will still be awkward between Mido and me for a while... but it's just so many things have happened in such a short period... I guess I don't even know anymore how I'm supposed to behave... should I be happy? Or confused? Or angry?"

The boy's enthusiasm from before had completely vanished. Link looked up, into the sky. It was the first time that he was noticing the sky slowly clearing with the arrival of dawn. The stars, which were twinkling brightly not long ago, became hidden under the morning sun.

"Link? What a surprise to see you up so early."

The young boy almost jumped when he heard the voice. He turned around and locked eyes with none other than Princess Zelda.

"P-princess!"

Zelda was leaning from the window of Saria's home. Saria had offered for Zelda to spent the night at her place, to which the girl gladly accepted. Since it was considered a taboo for the princess to stay at the house of a boy. No matter the age or race.

"Good morning Link. Did you had a decent night rest?"

Suddenly the purpose of his early weakening returned to Link's mind. His cheeks heated up slightly as he tried to come up with an answer.

"Ah, kinda I g-guess. I just wanted to try to see how it is to wake up early for once... is Saria still sleeping?"

"Yes, she is. I didn't want to wake her up. Back at the castle, I had a busy schedule so I tend to get up early to prepare for the day. If I may ask, I would really fancy to freshen myself up. Could you tell me if there's a place where I could bathe?"

"Sure, I'll show you."

"Thank you, I'll be right there."

It didn't take long before Zelda appeared again, she was carrying a small bag which Link assumed held some belongings that she needed to use.

"It's this way." Link pointed out before he began to lead the way.

The two hadn't said much last night after Link's conversation with Mido, but Link wasn't sure if she was planning to bring it up or not.

"So, how was your night? It's probably not as comfortable as the beds at the castle, but it can't be worse than sleeping on the ground."

"I slept very well. Saria is a very delightful and kind person. We ended up talking about a lot of things."

"Lots of things?" Link gulped, fearing for the contents of the conversation. "Like what?" He asked nervously.

A chuckle escaped the girl's lips. "You do know that it's an unwritten rule, that any topic shared between girls stays between them."

On contrary to her words, Princess Zelda did not sound serious at all.

"But since our conversation did not hold anything of value, it won't hurt to share a little bit," Zelda concluded casualty. "We were mostly talking about you. Saria was curious about what you've done after you left the forest and I wanted to know about you before you left the forest. We also talked about other things of course."

"Should I be embarrassed?" Link asked carefully.

"That answer is up to you."

Despite Zelda's honestly, Link was still feeling uncomfortable about the contents of her and Saria's conversation. He was glad that she didn't bring up last night's events, but he wasn't sure if she shared it with Saria or not. He decided to drop the subject as they neared their destination.

"Oh, we're here!"

They arrived at a separate area behind the Kokiri shop. While they had to climb up a bit in order to reach there, it wasn't a hard task for the children.

"This is the Kokiri bathing grounds!" Navi exclaimed proudly. "Here the Kokiri come to cleanse their bodies from impurities and such!"

The location they had arrived at as a pool, it wasn't very big and the location which was on a small cliff past the waterfall near the Kokiri Shop. The pool itself was also accompanied by a waterfall and surrounded by trees.

"This is really extraordinary." The princess could hardly find the words to describe her opinion.

"This is different from your people, right?" Link asked.

One of the first things Link learnt when he arrived at Hyrule Castle Town for the first time, was that the Hylian, unlike the Kokiri had no open spaces for bathing. They had closed rooms in their homes where they would clean their bodies, much like how the Goron use the hot springs to bathe.

"Yes, my attendants would always wash me. I had never the opportunity to do it myself nor in the open air."

While Zelda admired the large pool of water, Link approached the bathing side and grabbed a large wooden bowl, which lay next to the waterfall.

"Alright then, let's give you your first lesson on Kokiri habits." A cheeky grin was plastered on the boy's face. "First of all, we have to collect Deku Baba liquid."

"De-ku... Baba?" Princess Zelda repeated the words carefully trying to understand what Link meant.

"I think it's better if I show you. Let's go!"

The boy grabbed the princess' hand and hurried back down to the village. They stood right in front of the entrance to the Great Deku Tree's Meadow.

"Have you heard of Deku Baba?" Navi asked curiously.

Zelda placed a finger on her chin as she tried to remember what she knew. "I've read about it. Not much, though. They're plant monsters, right? That devour flesh."

"Something like that." Link confirmed Zelda's answer before he began to scan through the surroundings. "They are dangerous and bite hard, but near the places they inhabit they create some fluids that have great cleaning properties. We use that to wash our bodies. Oh, look over there!"

Link pointed to the rocky walls of the meadow's corridors were some leaves and moss were sticking out. From the corner of her eye, Zelda noticed some liquid resting on top of the leaves.

"Even after we kill them, the liquid will stay there for a while due to the Deku Baba's strong regeneration power." Link continued as they approached the rocky wall. "So... do you want to climb the wall or do you prefer to hold the bowl?" He turned towards the young girl and scratched his back awkwardly.

"Climb the wall?" Zelda repeated Link's words curiously as she turned her attention to the boy.

"Yeah, you have to push the leaves down if you want to fill the bowl quickly. Or else we'll have to stand here for hours." Link explained. He got into a crouching position before gesturing the Princess to climb on his back. "I'll give you a little push."

Zelda looked at Link and then back at the walls and the leaves. A glint of excitement was present in her eyes.

"Are you sure it's fine?" She asked him carefully.

Link nodded in response. "You said you wanted to learn more about the outside world, right?"

It was enough for the princess to gather her courage and climb on the boy's back. While it was a bit awkward for the two children, Link made sure to keep a firm grip on the girl while she wobbly tried to hold onto the wall.

"Don't forget to be cautious for the Deku Baba that 'are' still living here." Navi reminded them.

"The what?!"

"Wha, P-Princess!"

Zelda loosened her grip on the wall when she heard Navi's and made Link almost lose his balance. Luckily the young boy quickly made use of the rocky wall to ensure their balance. The princess, who during that time clung herself to Link let out a sigh of relief.

"I'm... sorry." She breathed as she tried to steady her heartbeat.

"No, you shouldn't be. Anyone would react like that." Link tried to reassure Zelda.

"Really, you two are such airheads. I can understand the Princess' ignorance since this is her first time here." Navi scolded. "But you, Link! You've lived here for all your live and you didn't think about warning her of the danger?"

"... I... forgot?" Link glanced quickly at the floor before he remembered that he was still carrying Zelda on his back.

Navi let out a sigh. "Kids..." she mumbled.

"Navi could have reminded us sooner too..." The young boy mumbled softly to Zelda, who let out a giggle in response.

The princess quickly regained her composure when she remembered that they still hadn't finished what they were supposed to do. She slowly raised from her position, making Link groan from the weight of carrying her full body, but he endured it as best as he could.

"Ah, got it!" Zelda exclaimed happily as she finally got a good grip on the wall and began to climb.

The lack of body weight on his back made Link breath out on relief. He rubbed his sore back while softly muttering. "Ugh, that hurts. Who knew girls would be that heavy."

"Did you say anything?"

Link flinched when he heard the princess' voice. He didn't know why, but his instincts told him to keep quiet. "No, I just felt a bit stiff from staying in the same position for so long. Don't worry about it, just make sure to let the liquid fall in the bowl."

Zelda nodded and grabbed the leaves gently, she was surprised by the cold wet feeling. She could almost call it sticky, but not sticky enough for it to glue on her hands. More like it could escape between her fingers if she tried to grab it. None of the flowers or plants at Hyrule Castle had any of those qualities, even the scent was foreign to her, she didn't hate it, but she wasn't sure if she liked it either. While the girl continued to ponder over these thoughts, she pushed the leaves down, watching as it slowly made its way into the bowl.

"I think this is enough." Link commented as he inspected the wooden bowl. He set is aside, making sure they wouldn't bump into it and spill the content before he gazed back at Zelda. "Alright, just drop yourself, I'll catch you!" The boy said as he spread his arms wide.

"Are you sure?" The princess wasn't reassured of Link's confidence, fearing that they'll both fall flat on the ground.

"Yeah, don't worry. I've fallen from higher places and look at me, I'm still in one piece." The boy exclaimed as he turned around as if he wanted to show Zelda that there was nothing for her to worry about.

"If you insist..." The girl mumbled. She looked to the rocks she was clinging to and then back to Link who was expectantly watching her. Then she looked at the sky while trying to prepare herself for her next action. "Well then, here I go."

Zelda let out a high pitched cry as she jumped from her position, closing her eyes and fearing for when she would hit the ground.

"Ugh!"

However, what she met was something softer than the rocks she was clinging to, while the fall was not soft, she still expected it to hurt more. When she slowly opened her eyes she saw her answer.

"Oh, my sincere apologies Link! Are you alright? Are you hurt?"

The young boy was lying flat on the ground, with Princess Zelda on top of him. Despite the fall he took, there was still a goofy smile on his face.

"That didn't go as I had imagined, but it was still awesome!"

It was just then that Zelda noticed how hard her heart was pounding. The sudden feeling of excitement she got throughout the climb, felt like it had exploded the moment she let go and dropped herself so boldly. It gave her a feeling she had never experienced before, the feeling of freedom. There was no one who'd scold her, or frantically check if she was okay. It was just her, Link and Navi enjoying themselves.

"Yes, it was very awesome."

Zelda couldn't help but smile. It was a small one, but it was filled with sincerity and enough to make Link loose his breath and make his mind go blank. He couldn't help but just stare as the princess was engrossed with her delight.

"Link, Princess, so this is where you are... oh?"

The two children immediately locked eyes with Saria. It was that moment that both realised how approximately close their faces were.

"Ah!" Both of them gasped simultaneously. The princess quickly got off Link and composed herself, while Link quickly lifted himself from the ground.

"Am I interrupting something?" Saria teased.

"N-no! W-we were just done collecting the Deku Baba liquid!" Link clumsily denied as he tried to explain the situation.

"You know, it's really strange for you to be up at this hour..." The Kokiri girl pointed out as she gazed at her friend suspiciously. "What are you planning?"

"It's nothing, I just didn't feel tired. Why is everyone being suspicious of me?"

"Because not even a Wolfos' Howling can wake you." Navi snorted. "So when you're up at such an unnatural hour, something must be up."

Link grumbled and ignored his guardian fairy. "I'm going to hear about this for the rest of the day am I?"

"I'm afraid you will," Saria confirmed. "Now let's get this back to the bathing grounds, then, before everyone else arrives. Oh and I'm guessing Link needs to wash too, right?"

"... yeah..." The boy admitted in embarrassment. "I didn't have much of an opportunity to clean my body during my travels..."

"Yuck," Navi muttered as she remembered all the running and fighting Link had undergone.

"Would you like to freshen yourself up first then?" Zelda suggested.

"No, you should go first." Link insisted, "I have a few things to take care off."

After he placed the bowl back in its place, Link excused himself and left the two girls on their own.

"I'm happy to see he's doing alright," Saria commented as she watched her childhood friend leave. "The last time when I saw him in the Lost Woods he looked exhausted."

"Exhausted?" Zelda asked. "What do you mean? Oh, are we supposed to leave our clothes here?"

"Yes, it's a long story, though. Yes, you can just leave them in front of the trees to make sure they don't get wet. Ah, but we should wash them too..."

Saria began to undress casually and quickly got into the water. Princess Zelda however, was looking at the trees. She was fumbling with the skirt of her dress.

"This... is the first time I'm actually bathing with someone... and in the open..."

Don't worry, I can promise you that no one can see us from up here." The Kokiri winked playfully.

"But what if the boys come here?"

The princess slowly took off her clothes and joined Saria in the pool.

"My fairy will warn them. Besides most of the Kokiri get up later. Mido is an exception since he tends to patrol early in the morning. But he mostly bathes last."

"I see, he must have a busy schedule."

"Not really, it's just after the death of the Great Deku Tree we have to be careful. Mido just wants to make sure the village won't be in any danger and since Link took the Kokiri Sword for his travels."

"Oh yes, I've been meaning to ask. When Link told me about your treasure. I was astonished. I'd never imagine for the Kokiri to know how to handle a sword."

"... That's because the Kokiri Sword is used to cut hard things for most of the time... you know like the meat of the wolfos."

Silence crept over the two girls. Zelda recalled that last night, Link was indeed cutting the corpse of the Wolfos they ate, with his sword.

"Oh..." The princess couldn't help but feel obvious for not coming up with such an easy conclusion herself. The Kokiri were children after all and the sword looked more like a knife in Hylian standards. "that... does make sense."

"It probably sounds silly for the outsiders, but because the Great Deku Tree was protecting the forest, there was no need for us to use the Kokiri Sword for other reasons."

"No, it does sound reasonable. You have to find your food, nothing is prepared for you. Which means it necessary to have a sharp weapon to cut through anything with a hard texture."

"Well, now we have to find a replacement for the time being, though. Here, it's very concentrated so a little bit is more than enough for your body, see? It's not necessary to rub it in your face, though."

Saria had taken the bowl and wrung a little bit of the content on Zelda's arm. The princess was amazed, it still had the same feel as the leaves, but she didn't dislike it at all. It felt more refreshing than the soap they used back at the castle. She slowly spread the liquid on her arm, feeling te liquid become thinner as she spread it over her body.

"This is so extraordinary." She blurted out.

A smile appeared on Saria's face as she watched the princess inspecting the liquid. "It has great cleansing qualities and nutritious for the skin. With this, we keep our skin healthy and soft. Oh and we also use it for our hair. Let me help you with that."

The Kokiri approached Zelda, surprising the young girl when she was pushed into the water. The moment the princess surfaced for air, Saria applied the liquid in the princess' hair.

"That... frightened me..." Zelda mumbled as she tried to prevent herself from accidentally swallowing anything.

"Sorry, most of us end up playing a bit with each other." The girl explained.

"Good morning, Saria! Oh, and the princess is here too!"

Zelda brushed aside her bangs, which were preventing her from seeing properly.

"Is that, Fado?"

The Kokiri who was calling for them was indeed Fado and the twins Mire and Remi were following her closely.

"It's been a while since we took a bath with everyone!" Fado exclaimed as she took off her clothes and jumped into the water. She eyed the princess mischievously when she noticed her shrieking at the bold behaviour of the Kokiri girl."So, did you sleep well princess? Are you enjoying your stay here?"

"I slept peacefully, thank you and yes, I'm really enjoying my stay. I've seen so many interesting things. Link even helped me to collect the Deku Baba liquid."

"Wait, you mean Link got up early for once? No way!" Remi declared. "That lazy sleepyhead wouldn't get out of bed even when you try to bribe him with food!"

"Is Link that attached to his bed?" Zelda pondered.

"Not just attached to his bed," Fado explained, a smug smile was plastered on her face. "This one time Saria went to wake him up because the Great Deku Tree summoned us all and guess what. When she entered his house he was wrapped up in his blanket, lying on the floor. He looked exactly like a caterpillar!"

Fado and the twins burst into laughter. The idea of Link being wrapped up in blankets did sound amusing to Zelda.

"Oh and there's one more thing." Fado placed her arm on Zelda's shoulder as if she was about to reveal something very important. "There's this thing that he considered to be his greatest secret, but we girls all know about it."

"Really? And what may that be?" The princess couldn't help her curiosity.

"Link is very ticklish."

The strange answer made Zelda blink a few times before she registered the information. "He is? I wouldn't have guessed."

"Yeah, while he is brave and pretty strong, he goes down easily when you tickle him."

"The boys are always so exaggerating over the silliest things, not knowing that we can see through their acts," Mire commented. "Did you know that Mido still wets the bed from time to time?"

"... What?" The princess had no idea where the conversation was going.

"He may act all bossy and such, but he still wets his sheets when he has nightmares. It's so silly and funny. Reed has a very strange attachment to a rock. He thinks no one knows but it's very obvious he even gave it a name."

"Are the boys aware of this?"

"I'm pretty sure they're not and there's no reason for us to tell them, this is our little secret between girls, alright?" Fado winked at the princess.

While Zelda was well aware that talking behind others backs was a bad thing to do, but hearing Fado's words gave the princess a warm feeling in her chest.

"Alright then!" Mire declared out of nowhere. "Since we're all here, there's this one thing I always wanted to do."

She glanced at her twin, who nodded in return. It was only until they turned their attention to Princess Zelda, that the young Hylian girl became nervous.

"W-wait, what are you planning...?!"

"Grab her!" 

* * *

"Did you hear something?"

Link turned around, staring at the cliffs where Zelda and Saria were currently bathing.

"Not really why?" Navi asked.

"Strange, I swore I heard the princess' voice."

"Don't you think that your little crush on the princess is making you overreact?"

Link faced Navi, his eyes big and mouth wide open. "C-c-crush?! M-me?! W-why do you think t-that?"

"For starters, your face is completely red. Second, you were acting like an idiot when you woke up. You wanted to prepare a present for her, didn't you?"

"Am I that obvious?"

"For me you are. I'm not sure about the others, but that's not my concern."

Link glanced up at the sky. While he was aware of the odd behaviour, which he had developed recently, he wasn't completely certain what the reason behind it was. But now that he knew the answer, the boy felt more confused than ever.

"Princess Zelda is one of the first friends I made since I left the forest. She's so gentle and kind. She hasn't judged me for anything and she places such trust in me... a stranger who had just walked into her home. She doesn't find me weird or anything and I enjoy her company. I just wanted to do something to thank her. It's not like I had any other motive."

"... not yet probably..." Navi muttered.

"What?"

"Nothing much, so what did you want to give her? Flowers? One of your poor drawings?"

"How did you... hey, my drawings aren't poor!"

"What would you call that blob drabble on your tree a drawing?"

"... I don't see you carving a drawing somewhere..." Link mumbled as he continued to walk.

The boy stopped when he passed his house and stared at the drawing he made some time ago. While the image was indeed hard to make out, it was still possible to interpret what the story of the drawing was.

"... I do suck..." The young hero grumbled in disappointment. "She's going to hate my present..."

The boy let out a sigh and slumped to the ground, allowing his head to rest on his knees and wrapping his arms around them.

Navi, who not long ago was making fun of Link, noticed the boy's depressed mood and flew closer to him. "... More than the appearance, its the thought that counts."

Link raised his head, but just slightly so he could see his fairy guardian. "What do you mean?"

"What I mean is that Princess Zelda would appreciate the effort you put into your gift. Be it hand-picked flowers or a childish drawing."

"You think so?"

"Absolutely," Navi answered with certainty.

"... Thanks, for cheering me up." A smile appeared on Link's face. The boy got up and dusted off his tunic. "Alright, I'll give her my present then!" Link exclaimed while punching his fist into the sky, however, seconds later his confidence dropped again. "But, what if she doesn't like the scent of the flowers? Or what if she starts to sneeze like that guy did back in Hyrule Castle town?"

"You pay attention to the weirdest things, you know that? The courtyard is filled with flowers, don't you think she would have sneezed during our first meeting if that were the case?"

"I guess so..."

Link looked at the ground, staring at the dirt as if it was the most interesting thing. He tilted his head again and began to walk with confidence. That however quickly disappeared when he locked eyes with Mido.

"Ah..."

"... Link..."

An awkward silence fell between the two. While the animosity had vanished completely, there was still the air of awkwardness around them.

Both boys stood still, exchanging no words for what felt the longest moment in their lives. They continued like that until even the silence made them uncomfortable.

"Um... so did you have a good rest?" Mido began as he scratched the back of his head.

"Yeah... kinda... I guess. How about you?"

"Me... too."

The two children looked away, not knowing what else to say. For Link, it was the first time he felt going through a tough challenge which he could not overcome. Even his first steps into the outside world were that difficult for him.

"S-so... have you noticed anything during your patrols..." This time Link tried to break the silence, however, it didn't help much.

"It's quiet for now. I haven't seen any signs of monsters entering the village."

"... That's a relief..."

Another awkward silence befell between the two and Navi was sure that if this pace continued she'd scream from insanity.

"... have you seen him...?"

Mido's sudden change in tone made Link look at him in confusion.

"Seen who?"

"That man, Ganondorf."

Just hearing the Gerudo King's name made Link clench his fists, however, he tried his best to keep his cool.

"He was at Hyrule Castle, visiting the King. The princess and I were spying on him from the courtyard. She tried to warn her father about him, but he doesn't listen to her. That's why she wanted to come with me."

"I see."

Another silence fell between them, this time, however, the feeling of awkwardness had completely disappeared and was replaced by what felt more akin to remorse and understanding.

"I... may not be strong enough to beat him and make him pay for what he did to everyone." Link began. While his gaze was still focused on the ground, he seemed to be paying more attention to Mido. "But I swear, I'll do everything within my power to defeat him!" He raised his head back to Mido, eyes filled with determination. "May the day arrive when he regrets trying to destroy Hyrule! That he regrets making the Goron and us Kokiri suffer!"

For a second, it was like Mido was staring at a completely different person. A different, but also familiar person. Strong, heroic, determined, equipped with a large sturdy shield and a beautiful large sword. He couldn't help but stare in awe at the image of the mysterious warrior. While it lasted just a moment, the image would stay with the Kokiri leader forever.

And while the image returned back to Link, Mido couldn't help but smile. It was a very genuine smile. "Yeah, go beat that evil man and come back in one piece. Or else I will never forgive you."

Link answered Mido with an equal genuine smile. He approached the Kokiri leader and held out his hand. "It's a promise."

The silent handshake between the two boys, made Link finally realise the one thing he had missing and longing the most. He had finally gotten Mido's acceptance.

* * *

"Link! Link, we've finished bathing."

The boy turned around when he heard his name being called. Princess Zelda was eagerly approaching Link, followed by the Kokiri girls.

"Princess and Saria... wait, why are Fado and the twins there too?!" Link mumbled nervously.

"They probably gossiped about you behind your back," Mido muttered.

"Wha- but the princess wouldn't do such things. She probably doesn't even know what it is."

"Oh Mido, good morning. I hope you had a decent night rest." Zelda greeted before she returned her attention to Link. "I would have never guessed that taking bath outside would be so refreshing! Saria and the others have been so kind and helpful! Is it true that you were once wrapped up in your blankets like a caterpillar?"

"A what?!" Link couldn't help but give Zelda a deadpanned look. The girls and Mido also were at a loss for words at Princess Zelda's sudden question.

"I've been told that this one time you overslept again and they found you on the ground wrapped up in your blankets. There was also this story where you came to see the Great Deku Tree while covered in mud because you fell when you were running away from Wolfos or when you accidentally ate the fruit you dislike and almost threw up your breakfast."

"Princess, you're not supposed to tell him about our conversation!" Mire called from behind.

Sadly, the deed had already been done and Link was frozen from shock and humiliation. Zelda upon realising her mistake covered her mouth and mumbled a soft apology. "Oh, my sincere apologies! I did not mean to offend you in any way. I was just too engrossed and curious about knowing more about you. If it will make you feel any better. I'll try to think of any odd experiences I went through!"

While Link's assumption of the Princess' inexperience with gossiping was confirmed, it didn't comfort the boys at all.

"N-no, it's alright Princess Zelda. There's no need to do that." Link quickly reassured her, while he was curious about the princess' past experience, it wasn't necessary to share any humiliating moments with the other Kokiri.

"But it is only fair! After everything I've heard about you and the others."

"Others?! What do you mean?!" Mido almost dropped the pouch he was holding as his expression quickly turned into horror.

"Princess!" Fado hissed behind Zelda's back.

Zelda's hands went back to covering her mouth as she realised her mistake. The other Kokiri girls could only shake their heads in exasperation or chuckle.

"At least you can add this experience to Princess Zelda's embarrassing moments," Navi commented. However, her poor effort to make the situation less awkward did not help much.

"A-Anyway, I assumed that you hadn't taken a bath either, so I wanted to inform you that you could wash your body." The princess stuttered awkwardly, however as she observed Link's hunched position a question arose in her mind. "What were you doing?"

"I... was eh." Link send an awkward glance towards Mido, who only held up his shoulders. Leaving the boy on his own. Finally, he glanced quickly at the Kokiri girl who seemed to be waiting for his answer expectantly before he finally gave in. "I... wanted to make a memento for you..."

"A memento?" Zelda's eyes widened slightly at the boy's confession, surprised but also flattered by Link's kind gesture. "A memento for what?"

"For the time you spent here... even though it's a short visit, I want you to have something as a memory of this journey. I wanted to surprise you with it actually, but it's not finished. So, can you wait until it's finished?"

Link felt the back of his neck becoming hot, but he was aware that the source of his embarrassment stemmed more from the Kokiri watching his actions than his confession to the princess. This was not how he had imagined this to go.

The giggles and whispers from the girls didn't go unnoticed, but Zelda pretended to be obvious to them. "You didn't need to. The time I've spent here is more than enough for a present. But still, thank you very much, it's very kind of you, Link."

Despite Link's fuzzy mind, he was able to notice one thing when he paid better attention to the princess, albeit he mentally slapped himself for not noticing sooner. "Princess, your clothes..."

"Ah, yes. Fado was kind enough to give me a change of clothes. Since my dress has been stained during the journey. So, what do you think of it?"

Zelda spun around, showing the full image of the Kokiri clothes she was currently wearing. It was similar to the Kokiri wear that Fado and the other girls were dressed in, however under the tunic was obviously a longer, white dress, which fell above her knees. Link couldn't help but think it looked very adorable on her.

"I think... you would fit right in." Link stammered. "I mean... it looks cute..."

Giggles escaped the girls' lips as the young boy tried to clumsily recover himself from his mistake. Zelda, on the contrary, showed a shy smile, feeling the back of her neck raising in temperature. "Thank you..."

"It's about time you finally take that bath, Link!" Navi suddenly interrupted. "Unless you prefer to skip it and prefer to continue your journey while smelling like a cuckoo den."

While embarrassment oozed out of Link, the young boy wordlessly turned around and ran towards his house in order to get a clean pair of clothes. Ignoring the whispering girls and Mido's speechless expression.

* * *

However, as much as Link had hoped for a peaceful moment, it just seemed like today wasn't his day. While returning home had to give him the sense of familiarity and security that he had missed during his travels, his days wasn't exactly as he had remembered them to be. With that, he could safely conclude that his peaceful days would never return. At least not for now.

"Ugh..." Link breathed out in the water, allowing bubbles to surface. While at least he got away from the giggles and gossips from the girls. He still didn't have any privacy, for the first time in a long time, Link's bathing time wasn't spent on his own. Mido, who sat uncomfortably, was only a few steps away. But it wasn't Mido's presence that bothered him. It was the pair of astonished, curious eyes of the other Kokiri boys.

This little hole in Link's time calculation made him forget how much time had passed before he finally went to the bathing grounds. His little chat with Zelda and the others lasted longer than he had anticipated and thus he and Mido arrived around the time the other boys would climb the cliff for their daily body cleansing.

"... are my eyes playing a trick one me?" Miso blinked a few times before he was able to word his thoughts.

"I'm pretty sure we're all seeing the same thing, though." Saptaki patted the shorter Kokiri on his back.

"It's... Mido and Link, right?" Istrian muttered as if he was trying to convince himself.

"I'm pretty sure it's them," Pyko confirmed his brother's suspicions.

"But they're together? In one place and they're not fighting? Are you sure we're not just having the same dream?" Reed whispered softly.

"We can hear you perfectly from over here!" Mido sneered, he obviously didn't appreciate the boys' comments. "If you guys have no interest in washing yourself then go do something more productive!"

The group flinched, not expecting their voices were loud enough for Mido or Link to hear. But aside from Mido calling on them. He and Link were pretty much indifferent on Miso and the other's curiosity for the sudden friendship formed between the two boys.

For Link, he was too occupied with trying to ignore his surrounding to find his inner peace again. But the mixture of nervousness and excitement wasn't helping him much. While resting his chin on his arms, Link let out a sign, hoping to order his train of thoughts.

"Hey, Link!"

"Guwaagh!"

The poor boy almost slipped and fell, but he quickly shifted the weight of his body to regain balance. Link looked up, slightly annoyed as he looked at Reed.

"... sorry," The boy muttered awkwardly. "I just wanted to ask more about your travels."

The young hero blinked, surprised by the Kokiri boy's question. "Uh, sure... what do you want to know?"

"The city of the Gorons. What does it look like? How is the Goron race?"

"Well," Link closed his eyes, trying to formulate how he was going to explain his time at Goron City. "Goron City is pretty much a huge cave near the volcano... no, I think it's part of the volcano." The boy corrected himself. "The houses are all built inside the walls, it looks pretty cool and it's there pretty hot too! Also, the city is round and constructed of layers or levels... like the deeper you go into the city the lower the layer is and the layers are connected by stairs and passages. There's a huge vase..." Link suddenly halted as he remembered the unfortunate fate that befell on the Goron vase. "There... was a huge vase, but I broke it..." he reluctantly admitted.

"You... broke it?"

By the time Link and Reed were aware, the other boys had also gathered to listen to Link's story. Some even snickered at Link's little incident.

"I was just practising with the Goron Bracelet that the Goron chief, Mister Darunia gave to me... I kinda slipped when I was at the higher levels of the city and the bomb kinda fell into the vase... The Goron weren't even mad at me."

"Those Goron must be super nice," Pyko mumbled.

"Yeah, they're also surprisingly good dancers... they did almost kill me when they congratulated me for defeating King Dodongo..." A shiver ran through the young hero's spine as he recalled that memory.

Mido blinked a few times, not understanding Link's comment. "What do you mean?"

"Goron is big and their bodies are pretty sturdy, especially their leader's!" Link raised his arms as if he was trying to prove his point. "It could be because they eat stones, but I swear I could hear my spine break when mister Darunia hugged me! Ah, he wants me to call him brother Darunia..."

Link's pointless comment was ignored by the others.

"Sounds kinda scary..." Mido muttered, wondering if meeting a Goron would be safe for the Kokiri.

"Well, they like music too. They had me play Saria's song for a long time too..."

"They like Saria's song? Those Goron have a good taste." Miso commented and the others couldn't help but nod.

"... yeah. But try playing it for a long time and you'd wish they didn't like music." Link mumbled softly without addressing those words to someone. "Oh, there was also a village at the foot of the mountain. Lots of Hylian live there, but I heard it was originally a village for the Sheikah tribe, they're the protectors of the Royal family... though the only Sheikah I've encountered is the Princess' guardian Impa..."

"Kakariko..." Reed repeated. "Are the villages outside of the forest different?"

"They're very different, there aren't many trees and the houses are made of stone. There are also a lot of adults and shops, they're like two times bigger than we are. I also saw a graveyard, that's a place where they bury the deceased bodies and there was this nice old man who allowed me to play there... I think his name was Dampé and there was a nice lady too who was taking care of cuckoos, although she couldn't touch them, so I had to help her out."

"What are cuckoos?" Istrian asked.

"They're like birds." Link explained. "But they make much more noise and their feathers are completely white... also they are pretty dangerous if you make them angry..."

A snort escaped from Navi. "You should have known better than running around and bully an animal."

"I wasn't bullying it!" The boy retorted. "I was just trying to use a shortcut!"

"You call luring an angry mob of cuckoos into a graveyard a shortcut?"

During Link's exploration around the graveyard, the young hero had found hidden caves that left the boy eye to eye with a particular enemy that left the boy with a mental scare, a Redead. Unknown to the danger that this particular zombie-like monster would bring; Link prepared to fight it face to face, however, it's intimidating screech was something he had no strategy against. Feeling completely unguarded and powerless, the boy could only scream as the monster latched itself on the young boy and began to bite him, whilst in a very uncomfortable position. This memory would still make Link freeze and shiver in fright. He had hoped that luring cuckoos into the Redead's den would take care of the problem, but the animals caught up to Link before he could enter the cave. Which left the boy bedridden and covered in scars.

"I don't want to go back to Kakariko..." Link cried softly as he unconsciously clung to Mido.

"Get... off... of me..." The Kokiri leader choked out, as he was trying to pull the young hero away from him, but Link's grip was much stronger, to the Kokiri leader's surprise.

Miso and the others could only observe the awkward scene of Link and Mido. Within one day, not only had they seemed to set apart their differences, but they have also gotten to the point where Link unconsciously would latch on their leader as means to comfort himself.

"I said get off of me, you idiot!"

"I don't wanna go back!"

Navi dropped herself on the grass, groaning in annoyance at Link's irrational behaviour. "Sometimes I just wonder if this isn't just a bad dream."

* * *

By the time Link finished his bathing, the sun's position was right above the Kokiri forest, allowing its rays shine through the tree's and giving the Kokiri village a beautiful glow. Princess Zelda couldn't help but admire the natural beauty of this. The young princess was sitting on a large root, which was part of Link's house. Swinging her legs gleefully while she waited for her companion.

The excitement she felt this morning was still present. A big smile was plastered on her face for quite a while now and it was obvious that it wouldn't go away any soon and her mind was still filled with ideas, plans and wondering about all the secret places she hadn't visited yet and all the stories Link had to tell her.

The princess' patience didn't need to be tested for she quickly spotted the young hero, slowly making his way towards her.

"Link!" Zelda called out. She didn't bother to jump down from her spot and just waved at him.

Link in return, looked up, puzzled as to why she was there and waved back. "Princess, did you wait for me?"

"I came here after Saria left for the Lost Woods and the others also had something to take care off..." Zelda was about to continue until she realised that she didn't know how long she was lost in her daydreams. "Actually... I'm not sure how long ago it was when we parted... I was too charmed by the Village's beauty." The young princess stretched out her arm in front of her, trying to reach the glowing particles which hovered all around the village. "It's so pure and peaceful. Kokiri Village is really breathtaking, I really like it." She finished after closing her hand and opening them as she watched the glowing orbs hovering past her hand.

Link became speechless. Despite Princess Zelda's smile, her eyes seemed to be saying much more, they held something mysterious that the boy couldn't put a finger on. "... I'm glad you like..."

"Oh, there's one thing I've been wondering about!" The princess quickly changed the topic as she jumped down and turned to look at one particular part of Link's tree. "What's this? Did one of the Kokiri drew this?"

The boy's face turned slightly pale. Zelda was pointing at a small drawing. The drawing consisted of what seemed to be a warrior fighting a monster and in the upper corner was a round blob depicted. The drawing looked childish and inaccurate and the princess wasn't even sure what the story behind the drawing was.

"I... made it..." Link admitted reluctantly. "But I made it a long time ago... I don't really remember what I was thinking back then..."

Zelda kept silent as she continued to inspect the drawing and trying to come up with the proper words. "It's not... that terrible..." An awkward pause lingered between them. Both children were well aware that it was a lie. "W-what I mean. No one is born with experience, we all start with simple drawing skills, but with practice, you can improve. You can make out what you carved. There's that huge monster and... a fairy?"

"That's a warrior..." Link corrected Princess Zelda awkwardly. "That's a shield and that's the sword."

"Really? It looked more like a pair of wings..." Zelda muttered as she looked at the drawing, feel ashamed for her answer.

"It's alright..." The young hero reassured her. "I know I suck at drawing... now that I think of it. I drew this due to a weird dream... I can't really remember what it was about, but I think it was about someone fighting a monster. Then again I always liked the idea of going on an adventure and explore."

"And what about the circle?" The princess pointed to the white round drawing above the monster and warrior.

"I guess I added some of my own wishes in that drawing... it sounds stupid I know... but in a way you can say that me with a fairy fighting a monster... aside from wanting to go on an adventure, I always wanted to have a fairy of my own, like the others." Link looked up at the sky as he reminisced the time when he was still ignorant and unaware of the outside world.

"It's not silly, this normal for children to have dreams and wanting to draw them," Zelda admitted. "Besides, your dream did come true in the end, didn't it?"

"Yeah..." The boy looked back at the painting, trying his best to recall what the dream was about, but nothing came out. "How about you draw something. He suddenly requested.

"Me?!" Zelda looked surprised at Link.

"Yeah, I want to see it. Your drawings." He smiled. "Ah, and if you're worried about a piece of paper, we can get some wood. It may be not as comfortable, but it'll do the job."

"There's no need for that, though." The princess replied. "I have some paper with me... well letters... For Impa, I wanted to write one each day and give them to her when I get back. But I suppose I could use one for drawing purposes."

"Great! I can't wait to see it, oh I almost forgot." Link's excited dropped when he remembered something. He glanced at the princess, his facial expression looked like a mixture of uncertainty and sadness. "There is this one place I haven't shown you." He reaches out his hand towards Zelda.

The princess looked at Link's face but took his hand with no hesitation. She silently followed the young hero who let her deep into the village. Princess Zelda didn't utter any word during their short walk, his eyes affirmed the inkling that she had about Link's actions.

Not sooner her suspicions were confirmed. They arrived at the same narrow pathway the two visited when they were collecting Deku Baba liquid. It was the entrance to the Great Deku Tree Meadow. However, unlike the first time, they continue to walk down the narrow path. The moment they arrived at the end of the path, Zelda observed her surrounding in amazement.

The path leads towards a large beautiful clearing. It was filled with greenery and the only place where the sunlight could reach a decent part of the place, giving it a mysterious yellow glow. However, despite its beauty, the place felt desolate and empty. Despite the sunlight and warmth, the princess felt a chill running up her spine while the looked at the next which stood in the middle of the meadow. It was the largest tree she had ever seen in her life. However, it wasn't the size that amazed her. The tree, unlike any normal tree, had a face, it was the face of an old man. With thick eyebrow and a moustache. It had a large, but slender nose and right on its face was what the princess could describe as its mouth or maybe an entrance. She wasn't sure which one it was, but it could be both.

Despite the majestic and wise appearance of the tree, one could obviously detect that life was no longer running through the roots of this majestic tree. The ethereal face looked cold and empty, it's days of glory long gone.

"This... is the Great Deku Tree?" It wasn't much of a question than a confirmation, but the princess couldn't prevent herself from saying this out loud.

"Yeah, he was the one who raised me and the other Kokiri. He's the guardian of the woods..." Link's voice lacked emotion, despite the time that had passed, the passing of his guardian was still a truth that the boy was struggling with.

Things of sentiments slowly crawled around his heart, forcing him to remember the last moments of his guardian, however, they quickly loosened when her heard Zelda's voice.

"He seems like a gentle being." The princess commented, she was uncertain of what else she could say or do to ease his remorse.

"He was." The boy agreed. "He was also strict and scolded me sometimes, but he deeply cared for all of us."

Silence loomed over the three individuals. Zelda was certain that this journey gave Link more scars than what she imagined. Despite the forest's unique climate regulation, she felt like winter had taken over this Meadow and grasped everything in its clutches, unable to make those involved to move on.

Ganondorf' magic struck the Kokiri gravely. Unlike what she heard about the Goron's case. It was a curse that was irreversible, one that left both physical and mental scars, edged deep within the very being of all the inhabitants. A scar that had time as it's the only remedy. Despite the Kokiri's happy behaviour, it was crystal clear that they were still struggling and grieving the loss of their parent.

Navi, who was quiet for most of the time flew towards the death tree. "Hello, Great Deku Tree... it's been a while... I have kept my promise and I will continue to do so. Link and I went to see the Princess and were now on this big journey to save Hyrule. I know it sounds all weird, but I'm sure you foresaw this, right? That is why you send him to meet Princess Zelda. It's been a long journey, but we're almost finished! Ah and don't worry we've never stopped thinking about you and the others..."

Despite Navi's efforts, it was obviously that she was shaking. Even for her, it was hard to keep her composure.

Zelda, followed by Link, quietly approached Navi. She locked eyes with the lamenting fairy before she stood in front of the Great Deku Tree. After one more glance at its face, she lowered her face and placed her hand against the dead tree.

"Great Deku Tree, while the circumstances aren't in our favour, it's an honour to make your acquaintance. I am Princess Zelda. Link has told me so much about you and it's a shame that I did not have the opportunity to get to know you in life. I want to thank you for raising Link. He's such a kind and courageous person and he has been a great help to me. I know I don't have much power at my disposal, but I promise I'll do anything to protect the lands of Hyrule and aid Link in his quest. So please, continue to watch over him, like you did before." After her speech, the princess kneeled in front of the Great Deku Tree.

While observing Princess Zelda, Link felt like he could burst into tears at any moment. He didn't understand why, but he felt like his strength had left his body. His arms just hung motionless on both sides and despite the urge to cry, the sadness he felt before had become nearly nonexistent.

Like electricity running through his veins, he felt like shouting, hitting his sword against something or even running, but they weren't purely charged by negative emotions. Under all those clashing thoughts, urges and emotions there was warmth. A very powerful feeling of warmth, one that would set his whole body on fire while a strange quivering feeling filled his stomach.

"Link? Are you alright?" Despite the princess' worry, her words did not reach them until a few seconds later. She was staring at him with the most foreign expression ever, just inches away from his face. The boy could only describe it as a mixture of uncertainty and confusion.

"I-" Link's words didn't form the way he wanted, his mind had gone blank. He wasn't sure what kind of face he was showing her, but he could guess that it wasn't a happy one.

It wasn't until he felt something warm on his left cheek, that Link noticed Zelda's hand touching his face. She used her thumb to gently wipe away the tears that he didn't realise he was shedding. Her touch was soft and comforting, while it felt foreign to the young hero, he didn't dislike it. On reflex he wiped the tears from his other cheek, catching the princess the princess by surprise.

A harmonious silence loomed over the two until the both burst in laughter. It was arbitrary and. Truth to be told, they had no reason to laugh, but they still did. The ringing of their laughter filled the whole Meadow and both hero and princess couldn't help but fall on the ground and continue with their antics.

Navi, who continued to watch them from above, smiled.

Soon the laughter toned down into chuckles and giggles. Link and Zelda rolled around to face each other. Their smiles never dying.

"Thank you." Link's voice was shaking as he tried to express his gratitude between his laughing fits, but he definitely felt his mood being improved drastically.

The princess sat up, taking several deep breaths before she glanced at Link. A joyful expression adorned her face. She slowly leant towards Link, gently holding him by his temples before she pecked his forehead. As she sat back, her cheeks contained a tint of pink.

"You're welcome."

Zelda's action turned Link into stone. He stared at her, uncertain if his brain had properly grasped what happened. One second passed, then another and another one. The time passed like that and Link's brain finally registered what had happened. His cheeks also turned pink and he glanced at the ground, unconsciously touching his forehead, which felt much warmer than the rest of his face. He looked back at the princess, her eyes were wide open and locked with his. The boy wasn't sure what kind of face he was showing her, but he was certain it was one similar to hers.

"... Yeah."

* * *

The day turned into night and as quickly is it had arrived the night passed and made way for the next day. Then whole Kokiri village was gathered together at the entrance towards the Lost Woods ready to say goodbye to Link and the Princess. Despite the peaceful beginning, the atmosphere within the group was filled with saddens.

"Can't you stay a bit longer?" Fado begged. Within the group of sobbing Kokiri, she was one of the few who kept her face dry.

Link couldn't help but give her an apologising smile. "Trust me, we want to, but there are things we have to take care of."

Miso was hesitating before he gave Link a small bag with items. "It's a give from the shop. Please return to us soon." He turned his attention to Princess Zelda, giving her the best hospitable smile he could. "If you ever feel like it. You can visit us anytime."

"Thank you, I certainly will." The princess responded. "I'm really grateful for your hospitality. I have enjoyed my stay here a lot."

"Next time you come, we'll hold a big party! Link can also invite those Goron. I'd love to see their famed dancing!" Reed cheered and he made a pump fist in the air.

"Haha! Sure, then Saria, the Princess and I will play on our ocarina." Link agreed enthusiastically.

The group exchanged a few more words and jokes, hoping to dispatch the heavy mood. However, the air still fenced when Mido stepped out and confronted Link with Saria behind him. The two boys held a staring contest while the others were waiting in anticipation.

"Don't do anything stupid out there and make sure to come back in one piece."

Hand reach out towards Link, and a smile was exchanged between the two when Link took it.

"I won't, I promise."

"And kick that stupid Ganondorf's butt!"

"Heh, I'm gonna make sure to kick him so hard, he'd wish he never got out of his bed!"

The brashness exchanged between the two boys graced smiled on both Saria, Navi and Princess Zelda. The other Kokiri watched in satisfaction as their leader had finally accepted the ex-outcast of the tribe.

After Link calmed down, he finally faced Saria. The two exchanged words in silence first, before the Kokiri girl walked over to him and her the young Hero in an embrace. "Don't forget, no matter how far away you are, or how lonely you will feel. This place will always be your home. We will always be there for you."

"Yeah... I won't forget you guys and as soon as I'm done, I'll be back. If I feel lonely I'll just contact you."

"Mhm."

Despite it being Link's second departure from his home, it felt even harder than the first time.

Zelda approached the two silently and learnt towards Saria. "Don't worry, I'll make sure to protect Link when he gets into trouble."

"Thank you, your highness. Oh, and before I forget, you can keep the clothes. They're a memento."

The Kokiri bowed politely as Zelda and Link made their way into the Lost Wood. While the parting was a hard one for everyone. The experience was one they would never forget. Old bonds were restored and new ones were created. The hero and the princess had both grown a little and were ready to face their next trial.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little afterword from the author before you guys will go look for other stories or browse around the internet. I think it's safe to say that this is my best work, in my eyes at least. There are so many things that go through me when I think back about the writing process of this chapter.
> 
> I wanted to elaborate on the Kokiri culture and their lives, also as the title of this chapter says; the bonds of the characters. The Kokiri always seemed like a very close group to me, even if Link was labelled as an outcast, they did view him as one of them in the end and that was what I wanted to showcase here. I always enjoyed the idea of coming up with all these trivial situations, while it seems unimportant compared to everything Link went through in OoT, it is one is the ideas where you can see the characters learn and grow.
> 
> Princess Zelda for example, being the sheltered princess and tomboy that she is, is still ignorant about many things and compared to Link, is not so independent. Also, her social contacts are also very limited, unlike Link, who grew up in a forest with kids of his age, Zelda was surrounded by grownups. Her idea and knowledge that she has about the outside world, originates from books and lessons. Both she and Link grow and learn a lot from each other and through the people they meet. They force friendships and connections that would stay with them and shape them into the persons that they would become in the future. The same could be said about the Kokiri.
> 
> I'm probably boring a lot of people with this psychology and philosophy crap, but that's what my latest fics are mostly about. I find it fascinating and it helps me view things in ways I could never think of in the past.
> 
> Anyway. I hope you guys enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it. The next one-shot will tackle Link and Zelda's challenge of venture inside of Lord Jabu-Jabu. Again, I can't promise you when it'll be finished. You'll just have to wait and see.
> 
> Thank you guys or reading and please share your thoughts about this chapter, or if you have any questions or request for a future one-shot, feel free to review or PM me.
> 
> Until the next time!

**Author's Note:**

> I feel so satisfied with this part. I'm seriously starting to notice how much I keep improving over and over again. 
> 
> A little trivia about the Kokiri names. Their names are all inspired from the Solfège musical scale or Music related names. 
> 
> With part 1 over we just need to wait with part 2, which I'm already working on. With Link having finally been accepted by the other Kokiri and himself, he will finally crawl out of that dark somber shell and grow. But wait?! What about Mido? Heheh, well you'll have to wait for the next chapter. He's been silent in this chapter for a reason. Most of you probably think that Link is surprisingly quiet if you consider how much he's been boasting in the other one-shot. True, but I feel like this is how Link would react. Like every person he tries to hide his fears by acting all cheerful and stuff, but whenever the time is nearing he'd become nervous, remember what happened just before he left Kokiri forest and his fears start to leak out. Zelda noticed this obviously and decided to first observe and afterwards comfort him once the got the total picture.
> 
> Anyway, my apologies for my boring rants. You're not forced to read this all, but for those who like character analysis and such are free to read this.
> 
> Thank for reading, if you have any opinions, questions or anything else, feel free to ask.


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